Bean-snipper.



F. WEGNER.

BEAN SNIPPER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. l9l6.

7h 1 9 1 2 1 e H H o 0 e 0 H An t a P 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IIVI/E/VTOH ATTORNEYS w/rmsss F. WEGNER.

' BEAN, SNIPPIER. APPLICATION FILED rm. s. 1916.

WITNESS l/VI/E/VTOR FRED WEGNER, OF FAIRPORT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'IO GEORGE IV. COBB, OF

IVIONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

BEAN-SKIPPER.

Application filed February 9, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED Wncrinn, of Fairport, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bean-Snippers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference numerals marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to provide an apparatus or machine for cut ting or trimming the ends of various articles, and particularly string beans, an operation generally known as snipping. In carrying out my invention I'have provided means for transporting the beans, or other articlesto be treated in this manner, suocessively along a suitable support, and, While so transported, to move them laterally of the support first in one direction, and then in the other, to position each article relatively to a cutter, which, as the articles are carried along, serves to remove portions of its extremities. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of a machine illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

7 Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. l; r

Fig. I is an enlarged detail horizontal sectional view taken on line 4" of Fig. 3, and

Fig.7 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view further illustrating the parts shown in Fig. 4. r

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

In carrying outmy invention, I employ a platform or support, over which travels a continuously moving conveyer having pockets which receive the beans or other objects to be treated which are open at the bottom so that the objects themselves rest upon the support while they are carried along by the feeding devices. These pockets are also open at their ends so that the articles resting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1917. Serial No. 77,143.

therein may, during certain portions of thoi r travel,be projected into alinement with the cutting devices or knives which are preferably arranged stationary to the feeding device or conveyer. Lengthwise movement of the beans, or other objects to be treated, in a direction transverse to their path of movementacross the table is effected preferably by two different surfaces moving in opposite directlons, arranged in the piano of the table or support and across which the objects are carried by the movement of the conveyer. 1

One embodiment of my invention comprises a frame work consisting of a long and somewhat narrow table 1 supported upon uprights or standards 2, and having at its opposite sides the upwardly extending side pieces or rails 3 and 4.

The latter are separated a distance slightly greater than the total length of the beans to be snipped, or other articles to be treated, the space between them forming a passage way through which travels an endless conveyer. The latter is preferably formed by chains 5 supported at opposite ends of the frame on pairs of sprockets 6 and 7 mounted on the shafts 8 and 9, one of which is provided with a pulley 10 adapted to be driven by any suitable source of power. Connected to the chains at equidistant points throughout their lengths are blocks or pusher heads 11, the lower edges of which are adapted to travel along the upper face of the table 1, in this position passing freely between the rails 3 and 4:. The upper courses of the chains are received in longitudinal slots in the rails, and in order to hold the pusher heads or blocks 11 in vertical position dur ing their movement across the face of the table and to avoid their cramping thereon, they are each provided at their ends with guide heads 12 which pass into and move longitudinally along guideways 13 in the rails 3 and 4. The entering of these guide heads into their guideways is assured and facilitated by providing the forward end of the table with a rounded portion, as indicated at 14:, which is concentric with the bearing of the shaft 8 which causes the pusher heads or blocks 11 to be brought into an upright position as they are carried around the sprockets 6. At the other end of the table its upper face is also rounded, as indicated at 15, concentric to the shaft 9,

but for the further purpose of providing bottoms for the pockets between the pushers during the time the latter are being carried around the sprockets 7 permitting the contents of the pockets to be deposited after their inversion.

The feeding devices just described move continuously over the face of the table in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. The articles to be treated are supplied to the pockets either by hand, or any suitable feeding mechanism adapted to segregate them and supply one article to each pocket, and" in this separated condition are transported over the face of the table. During this travel the articles are caused to successively engage moving surfaces which will eifecttheir longitudinal or lengthwise movement alternately in opposite directions, to cause one end of an article to engage or abut the rail 3 during a portion of its movement along the table, and subsequently cause it to be shifted so that its other end lies in engagement with the rail t during a later portion of its travel.

In carrying out this feature of my invention, I insert in the top of the table two disks 16 and 17, preferably somewhat larger in diameter than the width of the table so that their edges project beneath the side rails 3 and 4'. These disks are preferably j ournaled upon hubs 18 and 19 formed in the table itself by providing the latter with circular recesses which accommodate the disks, and the latter are provided on their peripheries with intermeshing gear teeth whereby both may be driven uniformly in reverse directions. Rotary motion is imparted to one of the disks by means of the pinion 20 on a shaft 21 carried by the hearing 22 and provided with a driving pulley 23'. In order to bring the faces of the disks into a plane with the upper face of the table, and make the surface of the several parts continuous, I preferably provide the disks with face plates as shown, and insert in the top of the table plates 25 which cover the projecting gear teeth of the disks, and serve not only to prevent articles engaging therewith, but also to hold the disks in place. Arranged with rails 3 and a at points forward of the disks 1.6 and 17 are cutters 26 and 27, shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. The latter are mounted in recesses provided in the lower edges of the rails. The forward edgesof these recesses extend to a point near the edges of the respective disks and are cut away to provide a space into which theend of the bean, or other article, may be projected, as shown in Fig. 4,. the width of the recess, or offset from the inner face of the rail determining. the length cf that portion of the bean- Which will. be snipped or cut off, and an opening 29 is also provided at the end of the distance itslside wall 28 isthis surface through which the severed portion of the object may be expelled.

Each of the cutters has a V'-shaped knife edge which cooperates with the adjacent end of the pushers or blocks 11 as these pass the knives successively. The latter are also formed with forwardly extending fingers 30, resting against the face of their disks, serving to slightly elevate the end of the bean before the cutting action takes place. These fingers on the knives serve tosupport the bean during the cutting action and prevent its being crowded or forced down into contact with the moving face of the disk. The knives are yieldingly supported" and are moved inwardly so as tolie in close contact with the ends of the pushers by means of a plurality of springs 31, their inward movement being limited by a screw 32. Guide pins 33 are also employed to prevent the tilting of the blades, and their forward edges are rounded slightly, as indicated at 3'4 so that as each' pusher 11 advances into engagement with the knife its extremity will not be injured, the rounding edge acting to defleet the knife suflicientl'y to permit the pusher to pass it. 7

In the use of the apparatus for snipping string beans, the latter are deposited in the pockets of the conveyer at the forward end of the table. The heads or pu'shers 11 as they advance along the latter, convey the beans successively onto the revolving surface of the disk 16. This is rotating in the direction indicatedby the arrow, which imparts a longitudinal or lengthwise movement to the bean, causing its attenuated tip or halm to be held against'the inner face of the rail 3, until" it reaches the recess in the rail when it will also be moved so that its extremity, or that portion which is to be served, lies within the recess, and is held in this position while the bean is guided into engagement with and moved past the cutter 26, as shown in Fig. 4E. The conveyer' inmoving forwardly subsequently transports the beans contained in the several pockets onto the face of the disk 17, which is rotating ina direction reverse to that of the disk 16. The beans are then projected lengthwise into engagement with the inner face of the rail 4t, their opposite or unsevered extremities passing into the recess in said rail in front of the knife or cutter 27.. The snipping operation on both ends of the beans being completed in this manner, the beans are discharged from the apparatus as the pockets become inverted inv their travel about the sprocket wheels 9, at which point they may be collected, as will be understood, in any convenient form of receptacle, illustration of which has been omitted.

An apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention is simple inconstruction and operation and comprises but few parts which may be readily formed and assembled. Machines embodying my invention are particularly adapted for snipping beans as the means employed for handling the beans is such that they are not injured or bruised and caused to'become tarnished, a condition which greatly affects their qualities.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a movable conveyer having open ended pockets, guards at opposite sides of the conveyer closing the ends of the pockets, each guard being provided with a recess and an opening therethrough leading from the recess, of cutters located in said recesses opposite said opening, and means for moving articles placed in said pockets alternately in opposite directions to project their extremities into said recesses and in positions to be carried into engagement With the cutters.

2. The combination with a horizontally movable conveyer having open ended pockets extending transversely thereof, and guards at opposite sides of the conveyer for guiding the latter and closing the ends of said pockets each having an opening, the opening in one of the guards being located in rear of the opening in the other guard, relatively to the direction of movement of said conveyer, of cutters arranged in said openings and cooperating with the ends of the Walls of the pockets, and means adapted to cooperate with articles placed in the pockets for shifting them longitudinally therein to first engage one cutter and subsequently engage the other cutter during the continuous movement of the conveyer.

3. The combination with a table, an endless conveyer passing around the table composed of spaced pusher heads and connecting chain links, sprocket Wheels at the ends of the table around which the chains pass and rounded portions on the ends of the table cooperating with the heads as the latter pass onto and ofl' of the table top, of guards at opposite sides of the conveyer having guideways, means carried by the heads cooperating with the guideways to hold the heads in an upright position during their passage between the guards, cutters at opposite sides of the conveyer and means for imparting endwise movement to articles lying in front of the heads to position them so that the heads will carry said articles into engagement with the cutters.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with a support, disks rotatable in opposite directions and a cutter located relatively to each disk, of means for carrying articles into successive topics engagement with and across said disks and between the cutters.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with a supporting surface, disks inset in said surface and means for rotating the disks in opposite directions, of a cutter arranged relatively to each disk and means for carrying articles longitudinally of the supporting surface between said cutters and successively into engagement with said disks.

6. The combination with a table provided with recesses, disks rotatable in opposite directions in said recesses, guides having openings formed therethrough, cutters located at each side of the table above the disks upon the guides adjacent said openings, of a conveyer movable between the guides across the top of the table and the disks and adapted to carry articles into engagement With said disks and cutters.

7. The combination with a recessed table top, disks arranged therein and means for rotating them in opposite directions, spaced guides above the disks having parallel inner faces, each with arecess formed therein, of a cutter located above each disk within each of said recesses and a conveyer having pockets open at the bottoms and ends movable upon the guides and adapted to carry articles across the table between the cutters and into engagement With said disks and cutters successively.

8. The combination with a recessed table top, disks arranged therein provided with intermeshing gear teeth and means for driving one of the disks, of cutters located above the disks and means for carrying articles into successive engagement with the disks and cutters.

9. The combination with a table top provided with recesses and having hubs arranged in the recesses, disks journaled on the hubs and means for rotating them in opposite directions, of a cutter arranged relatively to each disk and means for transporting articles successively into engagement with the disks and cutters.

10. The combination with a table, a conveyer movable thereon having spaced pusher heads forming pockets between them and a guard at the side of the conveyer, of a stationary knife yieldingly supported in a recess formed on the inner side of the guard and cooperating with the ends of the pusher heads.

ORLO H. ADAMs, B. F. BUTLER.

addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G. 

